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User blog:GFreeman/Excalibur
High-power and accuracy but unstable |unlock = 88 |slot = 2 |price = $998,000 |mag = 5 |type = Sniper Rifle |max_ammo = 20 |rate_of_fire = 30 |reload_time = 2.82 / 3.82 seconds |damage = 300 |accuracy = 20 |stability = 1 |concealment = 3 |threat = 96 |achievements = 9 }} The Excalibur sniper rifle sniper rifle is a custom primary weapon intended for use in PAYDAY 2. Overview The Excalibur is somewhat of an upgrade compared to the R93, with superior damage, accuracy and Threat. Because of this, the Excalibur is particularly effective against special enemies at long range, though not much so when used in close quarters due to its greater recoil and low rate-of-fire. When used at a distance, the low Stability of the Excalibur can be offset by its low rate-of-fire, as the recoil resets after each shot. Outside of Death Wish difficulty, it has the ability to kill any enemy with a single headshot besides the Bulldozer, and headshots are not necessary for non-special enemies. On Death Wish, the Taser and Cloaker can each be killed with a headshot plus a body shot. A major weakness of the Excalibur is its small magazine of 5; while most shots on target result in a kill, the sheer number of enemies that appear during assaults make crowd control difficult with the Excalibur alone, so care should be taken with aiming and one should attempt to kill multiple enemies with 1 shot if the opportunity presents itself, for maximum ammo efficiency, though its low Stability reading can make this somewhat tedious in tight quarters. Additionally, while it has a somewhat low total ammo count of 20; the Excalibur recovers 1 round per ammo pickup from fallen enemies, so provided one does not miss too many shots, it is possible to fill up one's entire ammo count again by just picking up ammo drops from dead enemies. Summary Pros: * Excellent stopping power and ammo efficiency; can one shot any non-special with body hits, and any special with one headshot (Bulldozers, under certain circumstances, can be killed with one headshot as well, see below). * High accuracy * Has a sizable unique mod pool * High threat * Has unlockable upgrades that can be equipped alongside mods Cons: * Very limited magazine capacity * Poor maximum ammo * Abysmal base Stability * Low rate-of-fire * Mods must be unlocked by completing specific achievements Tips * With aced Silent Killer, equipping the Covert Barrel will increase the rifle's damage. Compounding this with the effects of Overkill and Berserker while having Underdog active increases the Excalibur's damage to (roughly) 1256 per shot. ** This means that the shot will kill a fully-armored Skulldozer if it pierces his faceplate (dealing roughly 21587 points of damage), though since the player will have to be in bleedout mode while surrounded by 3 or more enemies for this to effectively work (and even then it only has a chance of happening), attempting this without proper planning is not recommended. *The Excalibur's meager reserve of ammunition may prove troublesome during prolonged firefights, so bring an Ammo Bag or have Fully Loaded aced to make sure you never run out of ammo. Bringing an ammo efficient secondary will also help to conserve ammunition and to allow more chances to gather ammo pickups. Available modifications Barrel Foregrip Gadget Sight Magazine Lower Receiver Stock Achievements m with the Excalibur. Unlocks the Precision Body.}} penetration kill with the Excalibur while firing from the hip. Unlocks the Winter Stock and the Fluted Barrel upgrade.}} Snipers. Unlocks the Extended Mag and the Heavy Bolt upgrade.}} Special units with one magazine of the Excalibur without missing. Unlocks the Police Barrel and the Light Bolt upgrade.}} Upgrades The Excalibur has an array of unlockable "upgrades" obtainable via achievements (see above). Unlike modifications which costs money to fit, unlocked upgrades can be toggled on/off for free, and changeable during the briefing screen, again unlike mods which cannot be attached/removed once the briefing phase begins. For balancing reasons, a maximum of only two upgrades are equippable together at any given time. Upgrades for the Excalibur includes: *A Fluted Barrel upgrade which increases the Excalibur's Stability and Damage at the cost of reduced Accuracy and Concealment. *A Compensator upgrade which reduces the amount of recoil generated per shot. The Covert Barrel is not compatible when the Compensator upgrade is applied. *A Light Bolt upgrade which increases the Excalibur's rate-of-fire, but hampers its ability to deliver accurate shots at long ranges (slight Accuracy reduction). *A Heavy Bolt upgrade which decreases the Excalibur's rate-of-fire, but augments its ability to deliver accurate shots at long ranges (slight Accuracy increase). *An AP Rounds upgrade which augments the Excalibur's damage per shot and penetration capability, but also increases recoil and negatively affects Accuracy. Trivia *The Excalibur was based on the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare series of sniper rifles. The in-game rifle itself is based on the baseline Artic Warfare rifle, but changes to certain specific models when different mods are attached. In reality these rifles uses a plethora of different ammo types but for gameplay reasons they are all chambered in the same caliber in-game. **With the Police Barrel, it becomes the AWP, or Artic Warfare Police. **With the Covert Barrel, it becomes the AW Covert. **With the Winter Stock, it becomes an AWM, or Arctic Warfare Magnum. **With the Precision Body, it becomes the PM, or Precision Marksman. The Precision Marksman is the precursor of the entire AW family. *The achievements associated with the Excalibur bears several references to the real world rifles and to the Team Fortress 2 video game. **The World Record, Part Deux achievement is a reference to the longest confirmed sniper kill in history, at 2,475 meters, made by the British Army Corporal of Horse Craig Harrison in the Afghan War. **The achievements The Professional's Standard, Be Polite, Be Efficient and Have A Plan To Kill Everyone You Meet are direct references to the famous quote by the Sniper in his Team Fortress 2 introductory video. ***'Gaining the AWPer hand' is another Team Fortress 2 reference, since there is also a sniper rifle based on the Arctic Warfare in said game, named the AWPer Hand. "AWPer Hand" can be read as "upper hand", which fits the Excalibur perfectly since AWs have been known to be immensely powerful rifles that can completely turn the tide of a match in several different video games. *In British mythology, Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur that sometimes was attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. *The default sight for all sniper rifles is based on the Schmidt & Bender 1-8x24 PM Short Dot. The sight also has the words "For Campers By Campers" written on top of the Optic. * The default threat on the Excalibur is 96. This is a reference to the Precision Marksman's British Army designation, the L96A1. Gallery AWM.png|The default Excalibur. AWMMod1.png|The Excalibur with mods (Heat Treated Body, Harrison Bipod, Winter Stock and The Bigger The Better Suppressor). AWMFolding.png|The Excalibur with the Winter Stock. AWMPM.png|The Excalibur with the Precision Body. AWS.png|The Excalibur with the Covert Barrel. Category:Blog posts